A Message from the Secretary of Administration and Finance

As a result of the global
economic downturn, the Patrick-Murray Administration has managed government during
one of the worst fiscal crises Massachusetts has ever faced. Fiscal year
2011 will be the third straight fiscal year requiring billions of dollars of
budget solutions. The “Great Recession” brought with it a steep decline
in tax revenues and, while we expect to turn the corner and see growth in
fiscal year 2011, tax revenues will remain at much lower levels than when
Governor Patrick filed his first budget three years ago. Meanwhile,
demand for state services has increased significantly as more residents have
needed help.

Even in these incredibly
difficult times, we have maintained fiscal stability and responsibly managed
the state’s finances, thanks to the Governor’s leadership. While they
have downgraded more than a dozen states during the recession, the credit
rating agencies recently affirmed the Commonwealth’s strong AA bond rating,
specifically highlighting the Governor’s strong fiscal management during the economic
crisis:

Fitch Ratings stated its
“expectation that the Commonwealth will continue to address economic and
revenue weakening in a manner consistent with its demonstrated sound financial
practices” (November 4, 2009).

Standard and Poor’s pointed to the
Governor’s “strong and conservative budget management practices, with swift
action to restore balance after identifying revenue shortfalls in the past
year” and concluded that the Commonwealth’s financial practices are “strong,
well-embedded and likely sustainable” (November 4, 2009).

Cutting spending has been a
necessary component of a balanced set of solutions to the state’s extraordinary
fiscal challenges. The Patrick-Murray Administration has acted to reduce state
spending across state government. Over 2,000 state jobs have been eliminated,
and state employees who remain have been asked to do more while getting paid
less. We have cut billions of
dollars from programs and services in the fiscal year 2009-2011 budgets. This
has resulted in real, and, in some cases, painful impacts on Massachusetts
residents.

Budget cuts and sound fiscal
management are necessary in these challenging times. But the people of the
Commonwealth should expect even more from their leaders. They deserve not just
sound fiscal management but also true fiscal leadership. True fiscal leadership
is about more than just cutting spending in the midst of a fiscal crisis. True
fiscal leadership requires not only an appreciation for the need to live within
our means, but also an appreciation for the consequences of the actions
required to achieve a balanced budget. It requires not only tough
decisions, but also creative solutions. It requires not only telling
people what we can no longer do, but also persuading people to share
responsibility for helping find ways to preserve the many important things we
are doing. It requires decision-making based on careful consideration of
not just the impact on our fiscal health and stability, but also based on
careful consideration of the impact on the residents who depend on state
programs and services for their own health and stability.

True fiscal leadership in
these difficult times requires finding ways to deliver a fiscally responsible
budget that mitigates the impact on those most in need and that continues to
invest in a brighter future for all residents. It requires creative
solutions and tough decisions – not just to cut spending – but to reform and
improve the way government delivers services.

Governor Patrick has
demonstrated true fiscal leadership in the face of extraordinary fiscal
challenges. He has had to make many difficult decisions that have
required great sacrifice. Funding for state programs and services has
been cut while demand for those programs and services has increased.

The Governor has worked
tirelessly, however, to mitigate cuts required to preserve fiscal stability and
to deliver and maintain responsibly balanced budgets. Thanks to the
Governor’s fiscal leadership, Beacon Hill is no longer just talking about
reforming state government, it is reforming state government.
Transportation reform, pension reform, ethics reform, education reform,
consolidations of state agencies and functions, and many other government
improvement efforts are resulting in a more efficient, effective and responsive
state government. Thanks to the Governor’s fiscal leadership,
stakeholders are working together in a spirit of shared sacrifice to offer
solutions. And thanks to his leadership, the federal government has
provided significant support to states to preserve critical programs and
services throughout the fiscal crisis, including funding for education.

Governor Patrick has also
demonstrated true fiscal leadership by focusing not just on weathering the
current fiscal storm, but also on the brighter future we must build for the
Commonwealth. The Governor has worked hard to find ways to continue to
invest in providing a world class education for our children, training our
workforce for jobs of the 21st century, providing access to
affordable health care for all residents, supporting the life sciences, clean
energy and other job-creating industries of the future and fixing and improving
infrastructure that supports economic development and the quality of life of
all of our residents. Thanks to the Governor’s continuous leadership
in pursuing this long-term agenda, Massachusetts has weathered the fiscal storm
better than most other states and is well-positioned for growth as we begin our
economic recovery.

The Governor’s budget
recommendation for fiscal year 2011 is a product of the same fiscal leadership
the Governor has exercised throughout his Administration. It is a
responsible budget. While it contains cuts to programs and services, it
is balanced and compassionate and minimizes those cuts to the greatest extent
possible through government reforms and efficiencies, creative solutions and
thoughtful decision-making. It is a budget that continues to invest in a
brighter future, including the highest level of funding in history for
education.

On a personal level, it has
been a privilege to work with the Governor in the development of this budget
recommendation. While I know many appreciate the Governor’s fiscal
leadership for all of the reasons above, few actually have the opportunity to
observe the hard work that goes into exercising that leadership. The
Governor pushes me and the rest of his cabinet to make sure we have considered
all possible options to improve the way in which we deliver services and to
mitigate the impacts on those who depend on state government. He pores
through hundreds of pages of budget reports and recommendations, spends countless
hours in meetings with staff and meets with many legislators, stakeholders and
constituents to ensure he understands the options available to him and the
consequences of the choices he makes.

The Governor approaches the
budget process with a keen understanding of not only his fiscal responsibility,
but also a keen understanding that the budget is a statement of our
values. The Governor understands that the budget is not just a
compilation of numbers on a page. He knows there are people behind those
numbers, people who depend on the budget for their health and well-being and
for a brighter future. The Governor takes the budget process seriously;
he invests a great deal of personal time, energy and emotion into the process;
and he demands the best of all of us to develop a budget that is not only
responsibly balanced, but that serves the best interests of the people of the
Commonwealth.

As his budget chief and as a
citizen of the Commonwealth, I thank Governor Patrick for his true fiscal
leadership. I also want to thank Lieutenant Governor Murray for his
leadership. He is also personally engaged in the budget development
process and is a valuable partner to the Governor in the decision-making
process.

The Patrick-Murray Administration
is fortunate to have strong fiscal partners in the legislature. Unlike
many other states, the Administration and the legislature have worked
collaboratively and responsibly to pass budgets that are balanced, on-time and
fiscally responsible in the face of extraordinary fiscal challenges. I
thank my colleagues, Chairman Steven Panagiotakos and Chairman Charles Murphy,
and their staffs for their partnership in managing the Commonwealth’s budget
through these difficult times.

I also want to thank my
colleagues on the Governor’s cabinet for all of their hard work and creativity
in developing budget recommendations for the Governor under very challenging
circumstances; Liz Morningstar, Rebecca Deusser and the rest of the Governor’s
staff for their help and support; the members of the Governor’s Council of
Economic Advisors for their valuable advice and insight; Commissioner Bal and
her team at the Department of Revenue for their work in monitoring state tax
revenues and in developing and analyzing various budget proposals; and the many
legislators, municipal officials, agency heads and stakeholders who took the
time to write me or to meet with me or my staff to educate us and to inform our
work on the budget.

Lastly, I want to express
deep appreciation, thanks and gratitude to my incredible team in the Executive
Office of Administration and Finance for their work on this budget
recommendation. Although I have had the privilege of working with my
colleagues at A&F for three years now, I continue to be amazed by the
enthusiasm, energy, creativity, diligence and dedication that they bring to
their jobs each and every day. I am proud to be associated with all of
them. Special thanks go to Undersecretary Matt Gorzkowicz and Budget
Director LeeAnn Pasquini for their leadership.